Tables scattered with crochet hooks and knitting needles, bundles of yarn glowing colorfully. You choose your thread, settle beside a few companions, and voices weave together as hands begin to craft your project.
Yarn Group began four years ago through a collaboration between Trinity Lutheran Church and PLU Campus Ministry. Pastor Jen Rude, the leader of Yarn Group, explained that after the pandemic, both older residents and PLU students felt isolated and longed for connection. Knitting and crocheting offered a simple, creative way to gather without the pressure of deep conversation. What started as a one-month trial has grown into a weekly tradition.
“One thing that’s really beautiful about it is that people’s hands are busy, nobody has their phone out. So you’re just together, and because your hands are busy, if there’s silence, no big deal. You don’t feel like you have to talk the whole time,” said Pastor Jen Rude, noting how the group naturally fosters presence and connection.
Corina Houseworth, a fifth-year art major and transfer student, found Yarn Group to be a welcoming space when she first arrived at PLU. “Sometimes in my dorm, I’ll get distracted by a show while I’m working on something. But when you’re in a group where everyone’s working on a project, it keeps me motivated.” Houseworth has completed several projects with the group, including a stuffed fish and a cardigan sweater. “It means a lot. I’ll see people I know from the Yarn Group on campus, and I have someone to talk to. It’s good community building and I really enjoy it,” she added.
The Parkland community donates yarns to the group generously. One family shared yarn that had belonged to their late mother, who had spent years knitting and crocheting hats, scarves, and prayer shawls for nonprofit organizations. Sharing the yarn allowed the family to carry forward her legacy of giving. In the past, members of the Yarn Group created hats and scarves to donate during Winterfest, a local Parkland event that provides extra support to families during the holiday. These acts of service weave care into the fabric of the group.
While service is one aspect, the Yarn Group cultivates intergenerational connection. A recently retired woman in her seventies, who had spent her life as a nurse, once knitted beside a student about to graduate from nursing. Their conversation connected decades of experience with future aspirations. In another scene, an 80-year-old participant introduced her wife casually, sparking admiration among LGBTQ+ students who saw their identities reflected across generations. Moments highlight the group’s spirit of exchange, where older and younger members teach one another and share their experiences.
Pastor Jen expressed her hope to build a connection between PLU and the Parkland community: “If campus starts to feel too much like a bubble, I don’t think that’s good. Yarn Group is one way students cross Park Avenue, since we physically host it at Trinity Lutheran Church. There, students meet neighbors, and neighbors meet students, so it doesn’t feel like the campus is a separate world.” With each stitch and thread, the Yarn Group weaves connections from PLU to Trinity Church, between people and the Parkland community.
Sometimes, a club activity is most meaningful when it’s simple. Yarn Group offers an hour and a half of calm: a return to one’s heart. With needle and threads in hand, participants share conversation and craft, letting go of the endless noise of social media or life, savoring the serene breeze and the setting sun of a Thursday evening.
